There’s no doubt that IL Ritorno has gained notoriety throughout the Tampa Bay area as one of the best Italian eateries around— CL food critic Jon Palm Claridge just named it one of Tampa Bay’s 50 best restaurants of 2019.
Now the downtown St. Petersburg restaurant is attracting national media attention, as it was recently featured on an episode of the popular Buzzfeed travel series The Empty Suitcase Show!
In every episode, host Kristin Chirico travels to a new city with just the clothes on her back. She then has to find suitable outfits for the day, before she embarks on an adventure throughout the city, exploring whatever restaurant, art gallery, or store catches her eye.
On the latest episode of The Empty Suitcase Show!, Kristin and the rest of her crew dined at IL Ritorno during her adventure throughout the Tampa Bay area. A smiley Chef David Benstock was also featured in the episode, explaining the dishes and welcoming Kristin to his restaurant.
The Buzzfeed web show is now streamed via Facebook Watch, and the entire Tampa Bay episode can be watched here: facebook.com/watch.
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This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2020.